


A Noble Steed

by kastron (decidueye)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: Bromance, Brotherly Love, Fluff, Gen, Teen!gods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-08
Updated: 2012-06-08
Packaged: 2017-11-07 08:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decidueye/pseuds/kastron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Teen!Thor gets a pet, and Loki takes some time to warm to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Noble Steed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my friend Vicky as a birthday present. The animal here is a baby polar bear dog, which can be found in Legend of Korra and looks like a younger version of [this](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Polar_bear_dog). Also, _Seier_ is norwegian for _Victory_.

“Loki! Brother, you must come and see this!” Thor’s voice cracked in his adolescence and Loki sighed, remaining where he sat with his feet dangling over the palace wall. Since Thor had begun his ‘passage into adulthood’ the god had been insufferable, squeaking and growling alternately about how he must prepare for the honourable battles he would fight as King, and grow his hair in the style of a true Asgardian leader. Loki had quickly grown tired of his brother’s babbling, and didn’t really feel like humouring him at the moment. Whatever the other teen had decided about the future of Asgard this time, Loki was sure he could find out just as easily from where he was. Besides, the amount of time it would take for Thor to reach him would grant him a few extra moments of peace and quiet – something which he could rarely enjoy whilst in his brother’s presence.

“Brother!” The call came from much closer this time, and Loki frowned upon hearing the heavy thuds that seemed to be accompanying his brother’s movements. Swinging his legs over the wall so that he could face the approaching sounds, Loki was startled when the god of thunder rounded the corner astride a huge, furry creature, impatiently tugging at its ears in an attempt to steer. Loki gaped as Thor dismounted – the beast, with a broad, white face and swooping tail stood slightly taller than Thor and had the wide eyed curiosity of a child, implying that it was set to grow much larger.

“What _is_ that?” he asked finally, and Thor beamed, fingers which hadn’t quite lost their puppy fat tangling in the animal’s fur.

“It resembles both the Midgardian domestic hound and the mighty ‘polar bear’ of the north. He is still only young, and he had lost his way. I chose to rescue him.” Thor explained proudly, gesturing first to the animal’s narrow hind legs before turning his attention to its enormous front paws. The cub must have thought that Thor’s movements suggested a game, as he nudged the demigod in the chest, causing him to fall, before licking his face with gusto. Loki frowned in distaste, eyebrows raised as Thor laughed merrily.

“O…kay…”

“I have named him Seier,” Thor called from his position on the floor, half-heartedly attempting to prevent the animal from laying on top of him and oblivious to Loki’s sceptical gaze, “Which is a fitting name for the steed of the future king, don’t you think?” Loki rolled his eyes.  
“Not this agai – wait, _steed_?”

“Of course! He is far mightier than any of the horses of the Palace Guard, and set to grow in strength as I shall. Do you not think that we are a perfect match? We are, aren’t we, Seier?” Thor reached up to pat Seier’s head, rubbing his face against the animal’s furry cheeks and making odd cooing sounds in a tongue Loki was sure didn’t exist in any of the nine realms. He shook himself after a moment of watching Thor in horror, concentrating on the matter at hand.

“You mean you actually intend to keep this – this _Seier_?” Thor halted his coddling of the cub, eyes widening in surprise as he looked to Loki.  


“Why would I not?”

“To start with, where on Asgard would you keep it? Father caters to enough of your whims without building a house sized stable for your –“

“Seier is worth far more than a stable!” Thor protested, and paused to think, “The palace hallways are large enough for him to roam, and he can rest in my chambers.”

“Your – your _chambers_!?” Loki choked out, “I highly doubt that Odin will agree to that.” Thor’s expression turned mischievous, and Loki grew anxious: Thor’s schemes were often as hair brained as his own, and usually had a more cataclysmic effect.

“I am sure that Father would not exile an innocent companion from its home…” he began, fixing Loki with pleading eyes that made the trickster swallow thickly, “If we were to escort Seier through the palace ourselves and ensure that Father only discovered him once he had settled, perhaps?” Loki opened his mouth to protest but his brother pouted, turning Seier to face him so that he was being greeted with two sets of puppy eyes. Both animal and master tilted their heads in unison and Loki hesitated before stamping his feet in frustration.

“Fine!” He reluctantly agreed, “But I’m not taking any responsibility for it. I don’t want to feed it, or exercise it, and I don’t want it going anywhere near my things!” Thor leapt jubilantly to his feet , rushing forward to give his brother a hug.

“I knew that you would love him, brother!” Loki patted Thor’s back half-heartedly.

“That’s not really what I…” he began, but was interrupted as Seier noticed that there were snuggles taking place without him, and rushed to rectify the situation, landing Loki with a mouthful of fur.

**

Thor had been granted his own chambers only a few months ago, when his voice had stuttered, deepening in the middle of one of their lessons. There had been an immediate call for a feast and by the end of the day Loki had found himself retiring to bed alone, the vast emptiness of what had once seemed like a cluttered room somehow less satisfying than he’d expected. Since then, he’d had trouble sleeping, but he had only permitted himself to visit his brother’s new chambers once in a fortnight, refusing to admit it was because he missed him. Generally, his excuse was to ensure that his brother was still behaving, and Thor never questioned him further, happy enough with his brother’s presence and often clinging to him as they both slept.

The nightmare was worse this time. The same blistering cold; flashes of blue in the pitch darkness and the overwhelming feeling of loss. A shadow loomed over him, and usually at this point he would wake up but that night sleep held onto him as a sword was raised above his head. He cried weakly, tiny hands (were they his? He couldn’t tell) reaching out pathetically to stop the swing of the blade.

Loki woke with the sound of metal on metal ringing in his ears, cold and alone in his bed and tangled in the sheets. His arm was stretched over the space where his brother once slept, and Loki pulled himself up slowly, clenching the sheets in balled fist as he fought with the instinct to run. Eventually, he sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to break his rule – once in a week wasn’t so bad, really, was it?

Loki padded softly down the corridor to Thor’s chambers, pushing open the heavy door with some effort before peering carefully around it. Thor was already fast asleep, spread-eagled across his bed and snoring loudly. A half-eaten roll of bread sat on the bedside table, and Loki shook his head – it was hard to remember that he was the younger brother when Thor still couldn’t resist the call of a midnight snack. Loki’s eyes then drifted to the foot of the bed, where Seier lay with his tail curled around him, looking remarkably like a huge ball of fur. _Well, that’s what he is, really,_ Loki thought to himself, eyeing the creature warily.

“Brother.” Loki whispered softly, but Thor didn’t wake. Loki tiptoed closer, so focused on reaching his brother’s bed that he didn’t notice Seier’s hind legs twitching until he tripped over them, unable to prevent the frightened yelp which escaped his lips as his face met the stone floor. Thor continued to snore, and Loki didn’t move from where he had fallen, tears stinging his eyes as the cold of the marble brought flashbacks of his dreams. He curled up tightly on the floor, feeling unable to make the last few steps that would take him to a place of comfort and safety.

Hot breath against his cheek brought him to his senses. Seier, senses keen as the hound he was related to, had been woken by Loki’s distress, and was snuffling curiously at the ball of god in his master’s territory. Seier licked at the corner of the boy’s eyes, and, tasting the salt in his tears, promptly began to manoeuvre himself around Loki’s startled form until he was encased in warmth and fur. Seier’s paw moved across Loki’s shoulder, the cub’s nose nuzzling the top of his head and Loki blinked, watching the animal close its eyes before reaching to scratch at is ears. He feeling of warmth overwhelmed him and he quickly fell into a dreamless sleep, a small smile gracing his lips as he thought that maybe having a pet wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**

Loki woke in the morning to find Thor beaming at him, already rambling about how they could go on rides and explore the furthest points of Asgard together now that Loki had made friends with Seier. He quickly pushed himself out of the cub’s grasp, hurrying to the other end of the room and muttering excuses about the cold and Thor’s lazy nature. Later that evening, however, Thor would enter his room to find his younger brother feeding Seier scraps of stolen meat from the kitchen and reading aloud, the cub resting his head in Loki’s lap with his tail wagging at the sound. Thor had thought to join them, even taken a step into the room, but had stopped at the vision of peace in Loki’s expression.

The three of them could play later – for now, he would let his brother enjoy the feeling of having a friend.


End file.
